MWC24: IoT, AI, APIs, and even smarter phones

5G, IoT and AIoT

Seamless connectivity was a theme, as you might expect at MWC. It is of critical importance to the IoT, as G+D’s Philipp Schulte pointed out in his keynote address at the discussion “5G IoT Summit: Making IoT Work for Customers.”. While making the business case for the IoT, he touched on the potential pain points of security, coverage, and global scalability. Seamless connectivity is key to navigating these. Once that happens, there will be no limiting the IoT’s use cases. “We believe we will have a world where there will be billions of devices seamlessly connected in a secure manner … We will have unlimited potential across all different verticals,” said Schulte.

Another way in which the IoT was discussed was in its overlap with AI, or AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things). Tecno drew crowds last year with its foldable smartphone. While it was showing off innovative products this year as well, its showcase of products based on AI – these included a robot dog and a futuristic gaming unit – in a connected ecosystem drew a lot of interest. 

Artificial intelligence rolls on

Indeed, AI was a major talking point across MWC. Sessions dedicated to its impact ranged from sports to digital inclusion to hospitality. 

Humanizing AI was a theme as well. As part of that, there was a focus on generative AI (GenAI), and how businesses can be responsible actors in this seismic shift. The topicality of the theme is illustrated in two findings from PwC’s Annual CEO survey: while 70% of respondents stated they expected GenAI to significantly change how their companies created value, only 35% indicated they were focused on the systems and processes that deal with AI.¹ Engagements ranged from debating whether GenAI was in fact overrated, to discussing whether AI would mirror how humans behave in every aspect, including being unethical in certain situations! 

Humanizing AI isn’t just of interest to corporates. Situating AI in everyday life was also a persistent theme of MWC24. What is more a part of everyone’s lives than their phones?

AI powers smart devices

MWC is well-known as a place to showcase new releases, as well as upgrades to existing models. Visitors were invited to check out the new functionalities of Samsung’s Galaxy^® S24 series for themselves. These new features include Live Translate and Transcript Assist, based on Galaxy^® AI, Samsung’s in-house technology. 

Google also demonstrated a new range of features for its proprietary phones, and the larger Android ecosystem. Circle to Search proved popular with attendees, while its image capture service, Best Take, also attracted a lot of attention when demonstrated on the award-winning Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. 

Honor and Xiaomi also made news, with the latter including AI-enhanced photography in its latest models, while Oppo introduced a prototype of Air Glass 3, the newest version of its AI glasses, meant to function as a “smart assistant” to the wearer.

For Amy Garcia-Rendle, Head of Marketing for Connectivity and IoT at G+D, and part of G+D’s contingent in Barcelona this year, the changing form factor of smart devices stood out. “What I like about MWC is that it reminds you that nothing will stay the same for long,” she said. “Devices like the Humane AI Pin show how smartphones could evolve into mini wearable computers, capable of combining different AI tools to address the needs of the user. It’s a glimpse into a future that is not so very far away.”

The move to open APIs

GSMA’s Open Gateway initiative keeps rolling, with developers gaining access to operator networks so they can add services more quickly and securely, thus enhancing the user experience. Among other noteworthy announcements this year, Germany’s main telecom providers – Deutsche Telekom, O2 Telefónica, and Vodafone – announced the launch of a new service through Open Gateway to help app developers tackle online fraud and protect mobile customers’ digital identities.